Q&A: Claudio Domenicali Talks Frameless Chassis, Sacred Cows, & The Future for Ducati

When I sat down with Claudio Domenicali at the Ducati 1199 Panigale R launch, the now-CEO of Ducati Motor Holding was still just the General Manager of the Italian motorcycle company. Four weeks after our interview though, Gabriele del Torchio would leave Ducati for Alitalia; and Domenicali, a 21-year veteran of both the racing and production departments of Ducati, would take his place at the top of Italy’s most prestigious motorcycle brand. After reading our interview from Austin, Texas after the jump, I think you will agree too.

Is Yamaha Using A Seamless Gearbox? The Data Says No

That Yamaha is working on a seamless gearbox is no secret, with Yamaha’s test riders currently racking up the kilometers around tracks in Japan. Recently, however, Spanish magazine SoloMoto published an article suggesting that Yamaha has already been using its new seamless gearbox since the beginning of the season. My own enquiries to check whether Yamaha was using a seamless gearbox or not always received the same answer: no, Yamaha is not using the seamless gearbox. To test this denial, I went out to the side of the track on Friday morning at Jerez to record the bikes as they went by.

OCC Coming Back to TV? — Universe Collapses in on Self

After a very public father/son break-up between Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr., a steroid-ring scandal involving Paul Sr., and finally a bankruptcy proceeding, it appears that Orange County Choppers is the impossible to kill multi-headed hydra of doom that we all knew it was, as the custom chopper shop is once again headed to the small screen and recruiting some talent, on and off the show. Looking for “someone who will work alongside Paul Senior, running the shop and helping build some of the best custom motorcycles in the world,” OCC says it will be back on television with a new show later this month. Please for the love of god, will someone give this man the attention he craves so dearly??! Or, just shoot us in the face.

Alstare Superbike Concept by Team Alstare

We love us some concept bikes here at Asphalt & Rubber, and we have featured more than a few pieces of stunning design and imagination on our pages. Though, we can’t remember the last time one of these works of art were brought to us by a legitimate racing team, but that is what we have here with the Team Alstare Superbike Concept. A nod to the former Suzuki team’s return to the World Superbike Championship as the Ducati factory squad with Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini, Alstare has enlisted the help of designer Serge Rusak of Rusak Kreaktive Designworks to ink the shape of its futuristic Superbike concept, while Tryptik Studios handled the 3D modeling prowess.

Transcript: The Gay Question at Jerez

If you didn’t watch Thursday’s pre-event press conference for MotoGP at Jerez, it is worth a viewing right to the end (assuming you have a MotoGP.com account). Building off the news about the NBA’s Jason Collins coming out as gay in a self-written feature in Sport Illustrated, my good colleague David Emmett had the courage to inquire about the culture and acceptance of the MotoGP paddock for homosexual riders. For the sake of accuracy, after the jump is a full transcript of David’s question, as put to riders Cal Crutchlow, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Stefan Bradl, and Scott Redding, as well as those riders’ responses to David’s inquiry.

2014 Suzuki GSV-R Spotted Again

News that Suzuki plans on returning to the MotoGP Championship in 2014 should be old information for dedicated Asphalt & Rubber readers, and the Japanese company’s inline-four race bike was already spotted doing test laps last year by the eager eyes at Cycle World. Well the American print-mag has another set of eyebrow-raising high-quality photos of the 2014 Suzuki GSV-R to mull over from the Motegi race track, along with some technical insights provided by the venerable Kevin Cameron.

BMW F800GS Adventure – Germany’s Middleweight ADV

A surprise addition to BMW Motorrad’s 2013 model line-up, zie Germans have announced a new middleweight adventure-tourer, the 2013 BMW F800GS Adventure. Like its larger predecessor, the BMW F800GS Adventure is a more travel-ready and off-road capable build of the recently updated BMW F800GS motorcycle. Featuring a larger windscreen, panniers, and a bigger fuel tank capacity (2.1 gallons larger, for a total of 6.3 gallons of fuel), the BMW F800GS Adventure keeps the same 85 hp, liquid-cooled, 798cc, parallel-twin engine found on the F800GS, as well as the same chassis configuration. Pricing in the US will be $13,550 for the base model BWM F800GS Adventure.

Kevin Schwantz Returns to Motorcycle Racing – Enters the Suzuka 8-Hours with Team Kagayama

Former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz has certainly been in the news a bit these past few months, mostly for his involvement and falling out with the Circuit of the Americas and the Americas GP, but also more recently for his comments regarding Dani Pedrosa — we also sat down with Mr. Schwantz in Austin, and the Texan gave us some sobering insight into the future of American road racing. As if all that wasn’t enough, Schwantz is making a return to two-wheeled racing, and has entered the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hours endurance race with Team Kagayama racing alongside Noriyuki Haga and team owner Yukio Kagayama.

Öhlins Releases a Semi-Active Suspension Upgrade for the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S – But, What’s Next?

An interesting development on the aftermarket side of things has graced our desks, as Öhlins has released a “suspension control unit” (SCU) that upgrades the electronically adjustable suspension on the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S so that it becomes a semi-active suspension system. Whhhaaaat??! So, if you’re the proud owner of a pre-2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S, and you think that your electronically controlled Öhlins suspension is no longer boss, now that Ducati has released its Sachs-powered “Skyhook” semi-active suspension pieces on its new batch of Multistrada sport-tourers, there is a remedy for your motolust.

Up-Close with the 2013 Yamaha YZR-M1

In case you missed our exhaustive coverage of the Grand Prix of the Americas, those fools at Dorna gave me pit lane access this MotoGP season. So while the whole paddock waits for the Spaniards to come to their senses, I don’t plan on wasting the opportunity to share with our readers our extreme access to motorcycling’s premier racing class. Accordingly, here comes another installment into our ever-continuing “Up-Close” series, featuring the very finest Iwata has to offer: the Yamaha YZR-M1. Thirty 2000px-wide photos are waiting for you after the jump.

WSBK: Battle for Second Leaves Runaway Finish During Race 2 at Misano

06/28/2010 @ 2:10 am, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

Hot World Superbike racing continued under the Italian summer sun as Race 2 was underway at Misano on Sunday. The home track for Aprilia looked for Max Biaggi to try for another weekend double, but BMW and Troy Corser set themselves as the team to beat all weekend long. With Corser on the pole, The Emperor had his work cut out for himself, not to mention the fact that the majority of the top WSBK teams had tested at Misano, and brought their A-game this weekend. Check after the jump for all the spoilers, results, and video highlights.

Rocketing to the front of the first turn, Max Biaggi looked ready to set the tone for Race 2 at Misano, but Troy Corser answered mid-way through the chicane, taking the lead from the Italian. Carlos Checa would find his way through as well, as the pack settled in to their race pace. Corser wouldn’t be able to breakaway like he did in Race 1 though, as along with Checa and Biaggi, Michel Fabrizio, Leon Haslam, and Cal Crutchlow joined in on a six-way battle royal for the front.

Biaggi and Fabrizio would get past Checa in quick time, and once Biaggi saw open track in front of him, he lost contact with the trailing group. Battling for second place, the five riders fell off the pace, and let Biaggi walk away from them. With close passes throughout the race, there was a little something for any fans loyal to a particular vendor.

The most notable mention goes to Troy Corser, who rode another strong race on the BMW S1000RR…only to flub it in the closing turns. Running off the course, Corser ruined his chances for a top five finish, and instead slotted in at a disappointing tenth place.

Leon Haslam also had a strong race, and mitigated some of the damages from this weekend by finishing second, just ahead of Michel Fabrizio. However, Max Biaggi still took a weekend double, stretching his lead in the World Superbike Championship over Haslam to 37 points. WSBK races from Brno in two weeks, where Biaggi is a dominating force. Could another double be in the cards? Stay tuned race fans.

Results from Race 2 of World Superbike at Misano, San Marino:

Pos	No.	Rider	Country	Bike	Diff
1	3	M. Biaggi	ITA	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	-
2	91	L. Haslam	GBR	Suzuki GSX-R1000	4.095
3	84	M. Fabrizio	ITA	Ducati 1098R	4.631
4	35	C. Crutchlow	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	5.014
5	7	C. Checa	ESP	Ducati 1098R	6.256
6	50	S. Guintoli	FRA	Suzuki GSX-R1000	7.677
7	67	S. Byrne	GBR	Ducati 1098R	10.144
8	99	L. Scassa	ITA	Ducati 1098R	10.942
9	41	N. Haga	JPN	Ducati 1098R	13.640
10	11	T. Corser	AUS	BMW S1000 RR	16.279
11	2	L. Camier	GBR	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	17.799
12	65	J. Rea	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR	22.793
13	57	L. Lanzi	ITA	Ducati 1098R	24.131
14	76	M. Neukirchner	GER	Honda CBR1000RR	28.212
15	77	C. Vermeulen	AUS	Kawasaki ZX 10R	36.551
16	66	T. Sykes	GBR	Kawasaki ZX 10R	49.636
17	23	B. Parkes	AUS	Honda CBR1000RR	50.041
18	95	R. Hayden	USA	Kawasaki ZX 10R	51.246
19	15	M. Baiocco	ITA	Kawasaki ZX 10R	58.174
20	90	F. Sandi	ITA	Aprilia RSV4 1000 F.	1’10.588
RET	52	J. Toseland	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	14 Laps
RET	111	R. Xaus	ESP	BMW S1000 RR	17 Laps
RET	96	J. Smrz	CZE	Ducati 1098R	22 Laps

Tagged under: Cal Crutchlow, Carlos Checa, Leon Haslam, Max Biaggi, Michel Fabrizio, Misano, Race 2, race results, San Marino, Troy Corser, video, world superbike, WSBK

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